Walk With Me To The End
by sonicsora
Summary: All it takes to change her world completely is some pilfered paperwork from José's desk. Von Richter made a clone of her, a child clone. Cybersix isn't about to let him possibly destroy another cyber, much less a child. She's going to give this girl a real chance to live, even if it kills her.
1. Discoveries

Idea based off of some excellent artwork made by granteddrop and carriagelamp on tumblr. Check out their stuff, it's beyond rad.

Basic gist: I'm wildly stealing from the original comic vaguely. Von Richter cloned Cybersix off of some genetics he last left from her file. Cybersix finds out and goes to rescue the kiddo. Family fluff ensues and drama.

Beyond that tidbit from the comic this is based wholly on the show.

As a heads up, scenes with Adrian is purely going to use he/him pronouns. Whilst Cybersix scenes are she/her for simplicities sake. I'd really rather not make scenes that are supposed to be dramatic clusterfucks of confused pronouns, ya dig?

Also consider this like between episodes. So the last episode dramatic ending hasn't happened yet.

#####

The roar of thunder outside made the woman wince somewhat, she spared her shuttered windows a brief glance. With spring, came rain. With rain came the thunder and lightening that made Merdiana hole up inside of their homes. Cybersix was no different, her catsuit was hung up over her heater. Heels forgotten by the rumbling monstrosity of a machine as she curled into herself in bed. She had escaped most of the downpour. She had been pleased initially, her plan had gone without a hitch. She had broken into José's mansion, grabbing what paperwork she could whilst leaving a wake of destruction behind her.

After everything José had done to this city, to its people, it felt deserved to leave the boy's mansion in worst shape than she found it. The smug feeling she had carried with her had been dashed decidedly once she actually read what she had taken.

Finding out was the worst part. As far as she was concerned, finding out stung more than anything else. A mess of documents on a desk stolen from José's desk had spelled out so much and so little. Cybersix did not realize she could hate the written word so fiercely until that moment. The written word had always brought her some semblance of comfort, but… not today.

The Doctor had made another Cyber. Another her. A child.

She slumped further into herself, exhaling tiredly as she ran her hands across her face. She settled the papers onto her bed, not wanting to re-read them for what felt like the millionth time that night. She needed to sleep eventually, but tiredness had yet to take hold of her. The busied schedule of the next day felt hollow in contrast to this.

Soft rumbling drew her gaze upwards from her carpeted floor, back to Data Seven lounging nearby. Bright golden intelligent eyes examined her, worry clear enough in the hunch of his body and flick of his tail. Even now he reads her so easily. Just as easily as she reads him. A different body doesn't change who her brother is.

"We- we need to do something." She says finally, confidence settling over her now.

The black panther simply tilts his head and waits. She's read the papers to him earlier, watched his ears flatten against his skull and teeth bared in rage. She knows he's just as angry as she is about this. Neither were too clear how to proceed with the information. It was a lead weight that dragged them both down, making it almost impossible to move. It soured what should have been a victory.

"I can't leave her out there." Cybersix states more firmly, more grounded as she sits up a little more. "I'll- I'll take a leave of absence at the school and we'll go." Data Seven rumbles lowly in the back of his throat, rising from where he lay to approach the bed, resting his chin on her knees. Those intelligent eyes hold her gaze, giving her a wordless agreement.

The woman gives a soft laugh at the gesture, stroking her fingers through his fur. "First, we need a plan."

The thought of going to that castle left her cold, but she couldn't just leave a little girl out there. She couldn't leave another of the Cyber series to be turned into something so much worse. She had seen what her creator was capable of. Who knew what he would do to the child if an idea struck him?

She wants to run off now, but- she needs to plan. Anything off the cuff would be too dangerous with a child involved.

Sleep doesn't come any easier with the idea put in motion, but it feels less like she's wasting time. Data Seven joins her in the bed, lazily laying on her and bringing the cyber some sense of comfort. The two creations listen to the thunder and rain together, basking in the sense of safety and warmth they have.

Blearily Cybersix realized she wants to give the child this feeling. Give her more than the grown cyber had ever had as a child. She exhales softly, pressing a cheek against Data Seven's body as she dozes off.

#####

"Thank you again, sir. I appreciate it."

"Think nothing of it, Seidelman. You're an exemplary employee. Don't worry. Just focus on your family." The principal stated smoothly, patting Adrian's shoulder gently as the teacher stepped out of the office. The two unaware of Lucas fussing at the copy machine nearby as they spoke. "You've given us more than enough time to find a sub and figure things out."

"Still-" Adrian exhaled softly, "Being gone that long-"

"You aren't the first young, man. It's not common, but I have it covered." The plump man answered easily in turn, patting Adrian's shoulder once again. "Just bring me your lesson plans before you go, lad."

"Of course, sir." Principal Strega chuckled at that, bidding Adrian goodbye with a nod before shutting his office door behind him. Adrian adjusted his jacket, openly relieved the meeting had gone well enough. The next part he had to do was start stocking up on Sustenance. He needed to do it carefully to avoid arousing suspicion…

"Going somewhere exciting, Adrian?" Lucas questioned, somewhat amused at the exchange as he leaned against the copy machine. He laughed somewhat at the way Adrian startled at his greeting. Adrian had gotten a bit too caught up in his own thoughts. "Lucas- I didn't see you."

The blonde man waved off the apology to come, "I'm not exactly your main focus, am I?" He smiled a little tapping his fingers against the top of the copy machine as it cranked out copy after copy. "Doesn't answer my question though. Going on vacation?"

"No- it's." Adrian ran a hand through his hair anxiously. His lips thinned out uncertainly. "It's more complicated than that, Lucas."

Lucas smile dropped now, worry pinching his brows together as he slowly stood from his casual lean. His tone softened. "Okay this is serious. Do we- should we talk about this after work?"

"Please." Adrian winced at the strained note in his voice. "I'm sorry- it's complicated, Lucas."

The blonde man held his palm up, a weak sort of smile settling on his lips. "No, no- I get it. Just fill me in- if you want I mean, you don't have to-" He shook his head, trying to stop himself from rambling. "Let me rephrase that… Heh. If you're comfortable with talking about it, lets talk about it after work." He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly, "Apparently I can't talk today."

His lips quirked upwards in a tired kind of smile. "I'm sure you're enjoying the taste of your foot in your mouth." He teased lightly back, trying to find some semblance of humor in the moment. The blonde man openly look surprised before a laugh bubbled up and out of him.

"Yeah, yeah, good to know you're getting a laugh out of this, Adrian." He plucked up one of his copies waggling the paper back at the dark haired man. "Same place, same time?"

Adrian nodded, "Same place, same time. I'll take the tab this time."

"Uh-huh. I hear that a lot, Adrian." He waved the other man off mock dismissively. The motion only earned another low laugh from Adrian as he walked out of the office back into the main hallway. The bell ringing overhead was enough to make Lucas hurriedly follow after him, trying to out run his next batch of students to his classroom.

###

The blonde man shook his hair out on the cafe's doorstep, smiling somewhat as Adrian attempted to shield himself with his arms against the on coming onslaught. "Lucas!"

"Hey, I forgot the whole rain thing." He defended with a smirk, "Besides you could use some water, you look a little dry, pal."

"Ha, ha, ha." Adrian lightly elbowed his friend, trying to stay out of the splash zone. He stepped away to open the door to the cafe. "Are you done shaking off like a dog yet? Or are you going to make sure everyone inside is hydrated as well?"

"Only for you, pal. One of a kind service." He winked a little now, enjoying the way Adrian went a bit pink in the process, awkwardly coughing into his hand to try and mask his embarrassment.

"Good to know I'm special." He held the door open for Lucas before following after the larger man inside. He stopped to wipe off his shoes and set his closed umbrella in the rack by the door, bemused by Lucas forgoing that much trailing towards their usual table. Even with the heavy rains they weren't alone in the cafe. It was busy as ever with the afterwork crowd.

"Lucas, you could have wiped your feet." Adrian huffed as he joined the blonde man at the table.

"My feet weren't that wet, Adrian. Don't worry about it." He answered with a careless kind of shrug, leaning back in his chair. Adrian gave an amused sigh as he shrugged off his coat settling it over the back of his chair. If the coat rack by the door hadn't been full he would have left it there.

The two fell into comfortable enough conversation, an easy meal and casual banter with their waitress. The topic never comes up naturally and when Adrian is on the edge of bringing it up someone draws too close or pops in to greet Lucas. The dark haired man has to suppress his frustration at the universe seeming intent on keeping him from speaking. The best he can do is take things as they go. Before he knows it the meal is over.

Adrian takes some amusement in taking care of the tab before Lucas returns from the bathroom. The two laugh amongst themselves as they leave their table behind.

The two walk huddled under an umbrella together as the rain continues to come down. Adrian can feel his heart beating a little faster at the close proximity.

"Adrian, what is going on?" Lucas voice breaks the silence between them. Adrian sighs, eyes closing behind his glasses as he tries to finally get out what he's had in his mind all day.

"There- there is an illness in my family. My cousin and her husband has fallen deathly ill." It is a rehearsed lie, but he hopes a believable one. It seems effective enough given the grim set Lucas expression takes on as he listens. "The executor of their will is fairly sure neither are going to make it within the next few months. I haven't spoken to them in years, but… they remembered I was their daughter's godfather."

Lucas sucks in a breath. "Adrian-" He's too stunned to continue, leaving a heavy silence between them. The sprinkling of rain hitting the smooth surface of the umbrella covering them is the only real sound for a few moments.

"I'm going to see them, see what I can do." He cast his friend a frayed smile, "I'm not sure if I will be getting their daughter or- not. All of it's so in the air. I feel like a fool for not calling them. I'm a coward."

A large warm hand settles against his back, "Family is- like you said earlier, 'complicated'. Sometimes what seems simple ends up being really tangled when family gets involved. Don't beat yourself up too bad, Adrian."

"Easy to say, Lucas. If I had known... I should have called them." If he had known about the clone sooner he could have taken her away to a safer life. He was afraid for her, he was afraid for himself.

"Should of's aren't going to help. Trust me. I have a lot of those." Lucas gently pulled the other man into a hug, stopping their walk entirely. Adrian just barely managed to avoid dropping the umbrella. "Just focus on helping them get everything together, alright? You're a brainy guy, Adrian. I can guess they're going to need that."

The smaller man hesitated before cautiously returning the embrace. It was under false pretenses, it was a lie.

He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve this compassion.

But he held on. He held on long enough the umbrella tumbled out of his grasp, hitting the ground. The two stood in the rain, holding one another.

####

"Yashimoto?"

The man was so focused on his computer he hadn't noticed her arrival at his windowsill. He startled somewhat, head whipping in the direction of where she sat. "Do you have a moment?"

"I- Cybersix. How are you?" He clearly wasn't sure what to say given the expression his face. Uncertainty mixed with curiosity. Cybersix herself couldn't blame him. It was fairly unusual to have another person appear at one's window at night. Lucas had only grown used to it after a certain point out of necessity.

Yashimoto adjusted his glasses, "Did- you need anything?"

His words warranted a slow smile from the cyber. "I wanted to speak to you about something, can I-?" She didn't want to step into his home uninvited.

The man blinked, before nodding rapidly as the realization dawned on him, "Of course, of course, come inside." He motioned for her to step off of the windowsill into his home. The cyber didn't need more encouragement to step inside, closing the window behind herself for some semblance of privacy. "What is it you wanted to speak about?"

She walked over to his desk gently settling manilla folder onto the smooth surface. "I suppose, I have a case for you. If you're interested." She wasn't sure it counted as a real case for the detective. She wouldn't be surprised if he turned it down.

"A case-?" He eyed the folder before reaching out to pluck it up, his own interest over riding any possible wariness.

"Yes. I- suppose this is unusual, but." She hesitated for a moment, opening and closing her hand at her side. "This is important to me and I want to be sure its taken care of. You know about… me. So I trust you to handle this delicately."

The man flipped the case file open, he paused, eyes widening once again. His expression hardened after a moment, "I can see why you want this handled delicately. A child- a little girl is at stake here."

"Do you think you can take this case?"

He held her gaze, "I'd be more than happy to."


	2. Plans take shape and form

"Here." Work-worn fingers passed the manilla folder back to her. "I think this should cover it."

Cybersix felt a smile curl across her lips as she flipped the folder open, skimming through the papers within. Relief rolled through the dark-haired cyber as she took in Yashimoto's handiwork.

"This is… impeccable."

The detective chuckled lowly at the mixture of shock and awe in the woman's voice, "I try. Usually, I don't do this sort of thing- but." He waved his hand uncertainly, "I've seen more than my fair share of faked paperwork and knew what to avoid. Beginners mistakes always stand out like neon signs to people checking paperwork."

Cybersix held it up to the light looking over the birth certificate, flipping next to a social security card and- passport. She exhaled, turning her gaze back to Yashimoto.

"I certainly owe you for this. I wasn't sure what your exact fee was-" She set the paperwork down carefully, reaching into a pocket sewn into her suit. "But, I did manage to bring what I could, given my… general lack of deep pockets on this." She chuckled somewhat, pulling out a small roll of cash offering it out to the man.

"Feh-" Yashimoto waved off her extended hand, "Keep it. If things go well, you're going to need it. Kids aren't cheap. Trust me, my little sister is a handful. I love her, but she grows so fast I can barely keep up." He let his head thunk against the back of his chair, laughing now himself. "She's going to need you, if what you've told me is true, Cybersix. So keep it."

The cloaked woman gave a low huff, hesitating before putting the money away. "Let me repay you somehow, please."

"All I'd ask is, you let me draw you one of these days." He paused for a moment, eyes widening when he realized what he said. Uncertainty and an edge of panic crept into his tone as he tried to explain himself. "I've been itching to since we've met, but- I didn't want to make things strange of course. Though I think I have at this point-"

Cybersix shook her head, her smile widening now. If that was what he wanted for this… she would be happy to oblige. "Yashimoto. I'd be thrilled to have you draw me."

##

"Adrian-" Lucas' sudden presence startled the bespectacled man from his idle thoughts, sending the stack of homework he had been gathering back across his desk. Some fluttered across the room onto the floor. The blonde man at least sounded somewhat abashed when he saw the chaos of paper he unleashed. "Uh, whoops."

"Lucas!" He shot his friend a look, quickly moving to grab the fallen array of paper. Starting at his desk trying to get some coherency in how he stacked things. "I thought you were copying worksheets in the office."

"Uh, yeah, five minutes ago." Lucas arched a brow back at his friend as he moved to help build back up the stack of homework, grabbing loose papers from the classroom floor. "Have you seriously been here this entire time stacking papers?"

"It seriously can't have been five minutes already-"

"It's 6:40, it's a little over five minutes." The blonde man mused, "Your head is really in the clouds today, huh?"

Adrian opened his mouth and closed it. He struggled with himself for a moment before speaking up. "I…I guess so. Where is my head at today?"

"Somewhere above high above Meridiana apparently." The faint smile that Lucas wore dropped after a moment, "Is… are your relatives okay?"

The lie almost blindsided Adrain before he remembered it. He fumbled with the paperwork, feeling horrible but knowing he had to keep this lie going. "Ah- no, its… getting worse. I'm glad I've arranged that time off."

Lucas expression stayed grim, he settled a hand against Adrian's shoulder. The gesture was a comforting one, one that Adrain found himself partially sagging into. "I'm sure things are gonna be okay, Adrian."

He didn't deserve the comfort. He didn't deserve it when he was lying like this. Even if he was lying for a good reason, it was still a lie. Another to add to the growing pile.

The slim man nodded, a weak smile settled on his features as he adjusted his glasses, "I.. hope they will be, Lucas. I really do."

###

To say her anxiety had gone off the charts was an understatement. Every day spent in Meridiana was a day the little girl was being experimented upon. A day Dr. Von Reichter was likely doing something awful to her. A day where Dr. Von Reichter was taking his frustrations out on her because he could.

Cybersix chewed at the tip of her pen somewhat anxiously, mind turning things over.

Her mind would come up with endless awful possibilities. Each one was worse than the last only making Cybersix wish she could dart into the night here and now to save the clone. If not for Data Seven's patience and sidelong glances she likely would have. Data Seven was her anchor in this. Her brother proved to be the steadying force she needed.

The anxiety at least kept her in order, kept her organized to stay on schedule in a way. Cybersix could admit as much to herself.

She put in a leave of absence with the principal of the high school, wrote up lesson plans to be followed when she was gone by any substitute teachers and started selectively building up a large quantity of Sustenance. She was going to need Sustenance for the journey. If she was able to bring the girl back with her, she'd need it for the child, not to mention if Data 7 came with her. Data 7 did his part, gathering vials here and there when Cybersix couldn't.

Her two months before leave proved to be some of the most tiring to her. Not physically tiring, just- emotionally so.

The trip had to be planned carefully. Planned in a way Jose didn't pick up on the shift in behavior. She wouldn't doubt he would report anything strange back to his father.

Who knew what he would do if he realized what she was up to. She and Data Seven carefully mapped out shipping boats headed in the direction for Data Seven to ride upon, timing to work alongside Adrian's flight. A variety of maps had been pinned up in her cupboard with her catsuit, detailed plans hidden in the locked section.

The careful planning was exhausting but proving to keep Cybersix from straying. Night patrols were short, she grabbed Sustenance, she left the scene. There were no extended battles or as many visits to Lucas as she'd have liked. Only seeing Lucas during the day felt... strange. Cybersix missed casual conversations by moonlight. The weight of the lie about Adrian's extended family wouldn't have carried here, but- she couldn't stay out long now.

She would find time before the trip to say goodbye properly. A goodbye as Adrian, and a goodbye as Cybersix. She wasn't sure what would happen on this rescue mission. She wanted to be sure Lucas knew she was leaving.

Cybersix exhaled slowly, dropping her pen for now as she gave a slow tired stretch. She winced at the audible pop her back gave. "I... should move a little bit, shouldn't I?" Even if the question was rhetorical, Data Seven gave a low rumbling sound. A large paw reached out to pat at her pajama-clad leg.

"Okay, okay-" She spared Data Seven a pointed look, only making the other experiment huff up at her. He had been casually reclining near her feet whilst she graded homework. Apparently, she had carried on far too long for Data Seven's tastes. "I'm going to bed, I swear."

The dubious look on the panther's face was enough to make Cybersix laugh, followed by poking her brother with her foot. "I'm glad you're trying to keep me well rested, but- I still have to grade papers. I'm a teacher, Data Seven." He knew it well enough by now, but Cybersix could guess he worried in his own way.

Data Seven gave her a clawless swipe, mostly nudging her towards the bed. Cybersix relented, turning off the lights as she went, moving to flop on her bed, soon joined by Data Seven. The panther flopped his head on her side, apparently finding the most comfortable position on Cybersix.

"You know you don't have to keep me here, I am going to bed." She started, trying not to smile and failing. "There won't be any secret late-night grading."

The hot blast of air from a disbelieving snort was all the answer she got.


End file.
